Thank you for helping us reach more than halfway to our goal!
Keep the momentum going—your gift still matters.

“How does one go about starting an art center? I just rummaged around.
I don’t know, I was just going to start an art center.”

  • Bill Zacha

Let’s Build Something Beautiful Together

Nearly 70 years ago, Bill and Jennie Zacha arrived in the sleepy town of Mendocino—to a burnt-up estate, to be exact—and dreamed. They dreamed of art and community. Of interdependence. Of boundless possibility.

Together, with a growing circle of artists, neighbors, and community members, they did the improbable: they transformed that burnt-up estate into a living, breathing art center: a home for creative experimentation, hub for community care, a spark for revival.

That dream didn’t stay theirs alone.

It became ours.

Bill Zacha showing future Art Center grounds to Bud Pisarek, editor of West Art (Photograph by Nog Johnson)

Art Center grounds circa 1967

the Mendocino Art Center continues the Zacha family’s ethos of community-building and collective care. We support artmaking across a wide range of mediums, fueled by that same ‘can-do’ spirit so alive here in the rural north that makes improbable dreams come to life. 

Their dream wasn’t just about artmaking. It was about artmaking as a vehicle to interdependence. It was about asking: what happens if we stay and build something beautiful together?

Today,

Ways To Support:

  • Memberships – Starting at all income levels. You’ll receive a 10% discount on classes and in our store—and the knowledge that you’re keeping the MAC dream alive.

  • In-Kind Donations – Own a business? You can sponsor an event, donate tools or materials for campus improvements, or offer your time and energy.

  • Sustain Sponsors – We’re looking for 50 donors to give $1,000 each, which will expand our community offerings—workshops, courses, and residencies.

  • Abundance Sponsors – If you’re in a position to give more, your gift can support essential upgrades to our aging, beloved campus—bringing it into the next 70 years with environmental care and resilience.

Whether you’re offering time, resources, or simply belief, your support is what makes this dream real.

Thank you for continuing to walk with us. Our doors are always open. Let’s dream improbable dreams together.

With care and gratitude,


Dav Bell, Executive Director
Tristan Crane, Board President

Give or become a member today.